Vented burglar-proof safe.



B. M. BENHAM. VENTED BURGLAR PROOF SAFE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.28,1910

Patented Dec. 8, 19M

2 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

Z- INVENTOR.

WITNESSES.- 31.2.31? W E. M. BENHAM. VENTED BURGLAR PROOF SAFE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.28,1910.

1,120,435. Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

ATTOR EDGAR Mi IBENHAM, 0F NORWOOD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR- T0 WALTER A. KNIGHT,TRUSTEE? OF PLEASANT RIDGE, OHIO.

VENTED BURGLAR-IROOF SAFE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 19.14.

Application filed March 28, 1910. Serial No. 551,977.

0 a]! U-ZIOHL it may concern:

Be it known that I, Enoaa M. BENHAM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Nor-wood. in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Vented Burglar-Proof ha Yes. ofwhich the following is a specificatron.

lviy invention relates to improvements in sates and vaults of the classcommonly known as burglar proof and the invention wisis'ts ot theimproved safe which 1 will Q latter describe and claim. The most iwii ntstairs of this class have the body in one piece. The wall is solid,thick, its only opening is a round one for the l r a single casting ofthe same material, .rh is round. and is ground into place. so a. :o J-atperfectly and render it impossible H1 in ert even minute quantities ofthe most lllllll ex losives. ilowever. it has been found at skillfulyeggmen can. in a few minutes. such a safe next to the joint of the doorand st to body. and insert enough nitrow riu. or other powerful modernexplothat an explosion will permit the easy removal of the door.Attention is called to the fact that all metals can be drilled and thatholes can be burned through them: and also to the further fact that acasting having vent holes can be made thicker than one without. and themetal be of uniform firmness and toughness throughout.

lt is a commonly known fact that the elli- -iency of the discharge of anexplosive dcpends upon its confinement, and the more nearly air tightthe safe or portion thereof in which the explosion takes place. thegreater the damage.

l construct my safe. preferably, of a single casting of tough metal.provided with crooked vent holes extending completely through the. wallsof the safe, said vent holes being of sullicient size and number to makean explosion inelfective, and fit the door in very loosely so that thegases formed by the ignition of an explosive would pass oil freely andnot displace the door or crack the safe.

In banks, the so-called burglar proof safe is placed within a fire-proofvault, and this would be the way in which my invention would ordinarilybe used; but it might be made large enough to contain a fire-proofrepository, if this best suited conditions in a given case; or it mightitself have an inner tight chest to contain the valuables and preventtheir destruction by explosions. It a fire-proof-vault contained one ofmy vented safes with a tight chest within it, and burglars forced openthe vault, they not only could not open my safe within; but they couldnot maliciously destroy its contents. for the tight chest within thevented safe would protect the valuables from destruction by explosion,and would itself be protected by the vented safe. If desired. alircproof outside, with or without an intervening chamber, could beprovided for my safe, and this style would have the appearance of anordinary fire-proof safe. An explosion would simply remove the exteriorfireproofing.

My invention might be made highly (lair gerous to burglars if desired.by tilling the outer portions of the vent holes with plugs of lead orother soft metal. Thcv would be finished over and look like the rest ofthe. safe body, in which case it would have the appearance of anordinary safe. The pressure of the gases formed by the explosion wouldshoot out the metal plugs with territic force. and if they weresuliicient in number and properly placed. no one near could escapewithout injury, if they escaped at all.

My safe is not only free from the faults of other types oi" burglarproof sates. but can be made at a much less cost, for the expensivegrinding to secure close fitting is all eliminated.

My invent-ion is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. in whichFigure 1 is a front elevation of a safe whose body is made of a singlecasting. and the door another casting of the stepped flange type; withpart of the body broken away and in section to show vent holes andplugs, and part of the door broken away to show overlapping edge andbolt work. vent holes in the door being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 9 isa vertical section along the line wm of Fig. 1, the vent holes in thedoor shown plugged. and those in 'the body open. Fig. 3 is a detail ofthe bolt work with a part broken away and in section. and contiguousparts of the door and safe, s seen from the inside. of the safe lookingtoward the front, with outer portions of the safe broken away. Fig. 4 isan enlarged detail of the door lug and slide.

Referring now to the drawings: A is a safe body, a single casting ofmetal, too tough to be sledged or otherwise broken apart. The dooropening, a, may be stepped in the usual way, and will of course be provided for in the casting, requiring no finishing.

Vent holes'a are cast in the safe and are preferably crooked so that noinstrument could be inserted from without into the safe to remove any ofits contents.' These holes may be any shape, size and number, and soarranged as best accomplishes the end desired. Thedoor"B, also a singlecasting of the same material, is adapted to fit loosely into itsopening, and has a flange b to protect the crack left between the doorand the body from the insertion of tools. The door may be held steady,when closed, by lugs 6 which secure the doors adjustment to the positionnecessary for the proper operation of the bolt work. Vent holes, 6similar to those in the safe-body, are provided for the door. These ventholes may be completely hidden by running plugs c of lead or other softmetal, in the outer ends thereof. When the safe has been finished, thesewill not be noticeable from the outside, and burglars would see no'difierence between this and other safes, except that the door was loosefitted. If sufficiently vented, the door can be made to close tight,when the appearance of the safe would be exactly the same as that ofother safes.

The bolt workD may be of any convenient type; that shown in Fig. 3having bars all I adapted to'be slid into and out of position at eachside by throwing the handle (5. I also cast undercut lugs 3 on theinside of the safe door at the top and bottom,and slidably attach to theinner side of the safe bars a with notches a adapted to permit thepassage of the lugs when the door is being closed. These bars may beslid so as to engage the lugs b by levers pivoted to the inside of thesafe body at a and to bars a at a, with free ends a adapted to engagenotches d in the bolts al Then movement of the bolts (Z simultaneouslyadjusts the bars a? when the safe door is closed. The bars a may also beadjusted independently by means of hell crank levers pivoted in theouter casing, one arm a of which levers engages the bar (1 and the otherarm a of which is an exterior handle for manipulation. It will beapparent that the bolts al the bars a and the lugs b will hold the doorsecurely in position. Obviously combinations and time lock mechanismscan be applied to this the same as other safes.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States:

1. A safe having in its walls a plurality of relatively smallvent-channels extending completely through the same, sufiicientlynumerous to afl'ord a vent for gases of eX- plosion within, saidchannels being crooked to prevent the introduction of tools orinstruments from without.

2. A safe comprising a unitary body and a door with sufiicientlynumerous, relatively small crooked vent holes extending com-- pletelythrough the walls of both body and door to afford vent for gases arisingfrom explosion within the safe.

3. A unitary safe-body having in its walls a plurality. of relativelysmall crooked vent holes extending completely through the wall,sufficiently numerous to afford a vent for gases arising from explosionwithin the safe and plugs so made as to cover and hide the outer end ofsaid holes and be readily displaced by the pressure of gases from withinthe safe. v V

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

EDGAR M. BENHAM.

Witnesses:

H. G. SKIFF, A. L. TILDESLEY.

